


Final Star

by sgri_sgri



Series: You Are Made of Earth and Stars [1]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Development, Character Study, Episode Related, Fear of Death, Gen, Internal Conflict, Internal Monologue, Mentions of Mass Murder, Nova Corps, Return of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Sam is the sole survivor, Sam's not as calm as we thought he was, episode rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-02 05:52:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6553546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgri_sgri/pseuds/sgri_sgri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam isn’t as unaffected by Titus’ presence as he seems to be. When the mass murderer of the Nova Corps shows up on Earth looking for Sam’s helmet, Sam has to set aside the past and face the rogue Nova.</p><p>(Basically, What Was Really Running Through Sam’s Head During That Episode.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Final Star

**Author's Note:**

> Based on season 3, episode 1 "Return of the Guardians of the Galaxy". The title of the story comes from a quote by Edwin Markham: "The crest and crowning of all good, life's final star, is brotherhood."

* * *

_“You’ve always had the power, my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”_ - **Glinda the Good Witch, the Wizard of Oz**  

* * *

He should have known something was wrong.

Working the job of superhero had endowed him with a strange sense of being able to predict when something was off; it wasn’t as advanced as Peter’s Spider-sense, but it was enough to let Sam know when something was coming and to be ready for it.

But when the days passed and nothing strange cropped up (other than a few criminals dressed in strange costumes looking for petty cash) he dropped his guard and tried to ignore the feelings. He didn’t like the tugging sensation in his gut, the tightening of his stomach like someone had a fist around it.

When Peter offered a chance for a friendly race through the city while Ayla and the others were out running a separate mission for Fury, he took him up on his offer. He had nervous energy anyway and he needed to get it out. Besides, beating Peter always seemed to help lift his spirits.

* * *

 

He knew the instant he saw the ship he was screwed.

* * *

 

“What did this to you?” Peter gestured to the ship and the damage it had taken.

Rocket glanced at Nova, hesitating about saying anything to Peter, before he plowed on. “Vicious intergalactic terrorist, calls himself Titus.” He was sparse, trying to get all the details out as quickly as he could without raising more questions. A hologram from the device in Rocket's hand lit up, revealing the feline-like being that haunted Sam’s dreams.

Maybe it was all those months of working together, but Sam could sense Peter getting ready to ask more questions about Titus. He decided the best option would be to be preemptive if he wanted to keep some things hidden.

“I’ve heard of him.”  _I’ve done a lot more than hear about him._  “Everyone in the Nova Corps knows about Titus.” His stomach clenched and threatened to crawl out his throat, but he prided himself on how calm his voice came out.

Rocket took up the rest of the story. “He used to be a member of the Nova Corps. Till he betrayed them.” The raccoon all but spat the last part, glaring at the hologram like he could actually burn holes through the real Titus’ head.

“And I’m all that’s left.” He sensed more than saw Peter stare at him in surprise; most of his focus was on the hologram and trying to control his rising emotions. He had spoken little about his story to the others, something that they had thankfully respected. Fury had been strong-armed (literally) by Gamora into not saying anything that Sam didn’t want him to say, much to the master spy’s ire.

“He just found out you were here on Earth and we intercepted.” Starlord spoke quickly, running over the question Spider-man began to ask. Though the man’s gaze was hidden behind the visor, Sam spotted his clenched fists. So their ruse to hide him had failed; Titus did know he was here and nothing was going to stop him from getting his helmet. “He’s coming for you, Sam.”

 _Thanks for stating the obvious_ , he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut and tried to calm his rolling stomach. When he said he was meant to be in the stars and fight the big villains, he hadn’t meant  _this_. He wasn’t ready to face a Supernova and the mass murderer of the Corps.

Thankfully, Spider-man took his attention off the subject. “ _Him_? What does ‘Cuddles’ want from him?”

 _You have no idea, Parker._  He forced a cocky smile on his face, trying to fall into their old pattern of banter and pull Spider-man’s attention away from the subject. “Hey, clearly someone in the galaxy sees me for the awesomeness that I so clearly am!”

He thought he had nailed it, but the suspicious look he could feel Peter giving him said otherwise. “Or he’s a guy who likes to go a long way just to be annoyed.” The words were spoken in jest, but Sam could hear the questioning tone behind them. He wanted answers, answers Sam wasn’t ready to give yet.

Starlord heard it too, judging by the rapping of knuckles on Sam’s helmet. “He wants this.” He said, sounding more somber than Sam had ever heard from him.

He could literally see the question marks popping up around Peter’s head as he tried to understand what Sam’s helmet had to do with anything. “He’s coming all this way for Bucket Head’s bucket?”

“It’s a Nova Corps helmet.” Rocket interjected, sounding annoyed that Parker had reduced Sam’s helmet to a mere  _bucket_. He fiddled with something on his device, grumbling low under his breath. “There’s a lot more going on in there than even I know. And I know a lot.” He scowled at the helmet in question, like glaring at it would make it offer up all its secrets to him. Rocket hated nothing more than something that wasn’t understandable.

Sam got it. He would give just about anything to understand the secrets of the helmet too.

Parker stared at the helmet for a moment longer and Sam could sense the assessing gaze behind those wide blank eyes of the mask. There were too many holes in their story, things that didn’t add up or make sense. But now was definitely not the time to answer those questions, not with Titus coming to Earth. The tiger smelled blood, his blood.

(He was so glad Mama and Kaeylnn weren’t going to be caught up in this. They had already been through enough with him and his father.)

“I gotta say, I’m excited that this one is about me.” Spider-man’s gaze snapped back to him. Nothing could be further from the truth, he was  _definitely_  not excited about this one, but he needed to stay calm. Act like himself.

“Calm down.” Spider-man chided and Sam mentally congratulated himself on distracting his group leader. “It’s not about you. It’s about your bucket.”

 _Isn’t that the understatement of a lifetime,_  he thought grimly, even as he smiled and bantered back, sounding like he was fighting just another criminal on the streets.

* * *

 

He secretly had to agree with Peter about their ability to sneak into the Helicarrier under Fury’s nose and steal the omnium generator. The Guardians had advanced technology that could get them in without too much of a problem, but he was more worried about Fury finding them and stumbling into this mess. He wanted to keep it simple and contained to just the Guardians, Spider-man and him. He didn’t need to worry about the lives of SHIELD agents or Fury doing something to try and stop Titus.

Of course, things were never just that simple.

* * *

 

“We’re running away?” Sam tried not to sound incredulous, but it didn’t sound like the Chitauri were going to stop because of some webbing Peter had thrown out. Those SHIELD agents needed help; they didn’t stand a chance against the aliens.

“Titus knew where to find you!” Spider-man shot back, surprising Sam. Damn, but that kid was quick. He knew the Chitauri were here under orders from Titus. “We need to take this fight away from normal human people.”

Rocket grumbled something unkind about normal human people before speaking up. “We  _need_  to get back to our-”

Sam almost ran straight into the figure that dropped from the sky like an avenging angel, shaking the deck of the Helicarrier to its foundations.

“-ship…”

* * *

 

The holograms didn’t do Titus’ presence justice; they didn’t convey the sheer power the feline carried in his body, the massive wall of a being he presented. He had an aura about him that made Sam’s intestines feel like they had gone on sudden vacation, an aura that told others he was a warrior of the highest caliber. The scars and prosthetics adorning his face reminded those present that he had been grievously injured and it hadn’t been enough to stop him. What could they do to someone like him?

Sam’s heart took off like a rabbit, Rocket’s story of Titus’ ascension and power in the Nova Corps and his later betrayal bouncing around his head like a deafening symphony. Here was the being who had slain those who should have taught him how to use his power, the one who had slain Nova Prime where she stood and the greatest of the Corps around her.

Here was the reason he was the last Nova.

Part of his mind screamed at him to flee, to run as far and as fast as he could so Titus couldn’t kill him and take the helmet. Sam didn’t entertain the idea that Titus would take the helmet and just leave him be; Titus would enjoy the sport of killing the last Nova, of tasting death and blood again.

He pushed that part of his brain away, calling on the confidence and strength he had gained fighting as a hero. He didn’t run, even in the face of a being like Titus. He was a protector and a defender.

“Lemme guess, Titus?” How Peter managed to sound so cocky in the face of Titus and his big ship, Sam didn’t know, and if they weren’t fighting for their lives, he would have given him a gold sticker or something that declared ‘I sassed Titus and lived to tell about it’. But the normal-ness of Peter’s voice was enough to drag Sam back to the present and calm his racing mind. He could do this. He had Spider-man and he had the Guardians.

He wasn’t alone and that was enough.

* * *

 

Sam would have liked to say that their combined front was enough to stop Titus, that their righteous fury overpowered him and he was brought to justice without the loss of innocent lives, but it was almost pathetic how easy he blasted the ground at their feet and threw them across the surface of the ship. He wished Luke was here; at least he would have been able to give Titus something of a challenge.

His blood boiled at the sight of Peter being held at gunpoint, filling him with a rush of power he had never experienced from the helmet. It was like the power of the stars were in his veins, urging him to protect those closest to him and to stop Titus. He had taken the Nova Corps from Sam; he wasn’t going to take anyone else.

“ _Titus!_ ” The shout tore out of his throat as he circled around the feline, hate for him replacing the fear. He would see Titus defeated by the end of this, even if it killed him.

And it may very well, considering his inexperience with the helmet and its powers. But he would be damned if that would stop him.

It was almost like Titus could read his thoughts as he spoke. “That Nova helmet has power beyond imagination. You use a mere fraction of its might and only I can unleash its true destructive potential.” He sneered at Sam, lips curled up in a terrible smile. It was the smile of someone who knew something you didn’t and wasn’t going to tell you; they wanted to see you fight for it, beg for it. His gun arm whined as it stared Peter down. “Now hand it over or this one will cease to be.”

He was grateful for Rocket at his side; it helped calm him in the face of Titus’ jeering.  _We’ll see who’s smirking later._  “Nobody touches the helmet.” He declared, not bothering to hide the murderous rage in his voice.  _And nobody touches my friends_. His bones hummed low and deep in him as power began to collect in his outstretched arms, ready to destroy Titus.

Sam missed Peter’s snarky comments as the hero jumped out of the way, snagging Titus with his webs. He was far too focused on making sure his beams hit Titus with all their power, trying to bring the titan down before he could hurt anyone else. But Titus wasn’t a Supernova without good reason; he easily avoided the shots and wove around the deck in a complicated pattern, making it difficult for Sam to keep up with. The hull tore and shredded under his blasts, leaving wide swaths of destruction in his wake.

“Kid, we have to take this off planet!” Rocket shouted in his ear over the sound of blasters. Pulled out of his tunnel vision, Sam spotted the cloud of Chitauri coming at the Helicarrier. As soon as they had taken care of the ship, they would go straight for the surface. New York couldn’t survive another Chitauri attack, even with as many heroes as she hosted.

Titus would follow him wherever he went, that much he knew with certainty. And where he went, the Chiaturi would go. He had to be bait and draw them away. With a sharp nod, Sam dove for Spider-man, reaching an arm out to him. “Webs, let’s go!”

Spider-man accepted the arm without question, dangling precariously in Sam’s grasp. He could hear Titus roaring in rage and declaring his armies to follow them, just like Sam had predicted. Rocket followed in suit, aware of their destination.

They just had to make it back to the Guardian’s ship before they were blown out of the sky by the Chitauri.

* * *

 

Once Starlord and Groot had joined the fight, the odds turned in their favor. The tides turned even further when Drax and Gamora emerged from the cloaked ship, looking murderous as they fought back against the Chitauri that had injured them.

The instant Peter and Rocket disappeared into the depths of the ship, Starlord was right next to Sam. “How are you holding up, kid?”

“I’m fine.” He shot back over the sound of his energy bolts hitting Chitauri. “Don’t worry about me.”

Starlord didn’t look convinced at his dismissal, but he didn’t have time to pursue it further as a few Chitauri pressed their frontal assault on them. An energy blast nearly hit him in the head and he took off after the offender, tag teaming him with Groot until he was little more than rubble.

He heard the low groaning of Titus’ ship long before he saw it and some weird part of his mind wondered how J.J. Jameson was going to spin this particular story off. He could already see it now: “Spider-man secretly affiliated with aliens, brought them to Earth to harvest our organs.” He wouldn’t be surprised at all if the man actually did say something along those lines. He shoved those thoughts aside as he regrouped with the others on the ship in the street, painfully aware of how small it was in comparison to the mammoth ship above them.

“Everyone in the ship.” Starlord commanded, sounding completely no-nonsense as they filed back in. He handed out assignments, putting Sam on co-pilot.

 _Hopefully my skills aren’t rusty,_  he thought as he gripped the controls. It had been some time since he had gone flying in this ship and she had a host of personality quirks that could make things difficult.

The panels flashed warnings at him; Titus’ ship was preparing for combat. “Guys, we need to launch now!” He cut through Spider-man and Starlord's discussion. “They’ve got weapons locked!”

The ship shot off the ground, enough that Sam felt like his stomach was against the back wall. Peter swung wildly above them, throwing out some crazy comment on the size of the ship (of all times, why now?) but Sam focused his attention on the engines and thrusters. The omnium got the ship going again, but she was still struggling. They weren’t fast enough to outrun Titus and get the ship into orbit. “I need more thruster power!” He shouted over the noise. Starlord growled low under his breath and fiddled with something on his panel, giving Sam his needed thruster power. The power was immediately rerouted into the evasive maneuvers Starlord performed under the belly of Titus’ ship, giving them the much-needed advantage over the large warship.

“Hailing unidentified warship,” Rocket declared from behind him. “This is the Guardians of the Galaxy. We accept your surrender, you giant pile of space garbage!”

Sam listened with no small amount of glee to the furious response back; they might actually win this. They might actually stop Titus and his army. He could possibly survive this and still have his helmet and his life. It was enough to make him start flying again, but he forced himself back down into the seat.  _Focus, Sam. You can’t be distracted now._

He almost bit his tongue off when the ship jarred violently around them. The scream of metal tearing rang through his ears and cold atmospheric air poured into the cockpit from the open wound on the side of the ship.

“We’ve been hit!” Starlord declared needlessly, but the Guardians were already on it. Sam tried to hit the Chitauri soldiers without hitting his friends, but it wasn’t easy with the chaos around them. A burning glare came from Drax when he almost hit his shoulder.

He was going to pay for that one later.

All conscious thought of Titus or punishment at the hands of Drax fled when lightning arced through his body, lighting every nerve and cell on fire. He yelled in pain as he lost consciousness, embracing the dark void that was free of pain and fear.

* * *

 

_Sam._

_Sam, wake up._

_You must stop Titus. You must save your friends._

The speaker was a woman, that much he was sure about, but it was a low and deep alto. She sounded near and far all at the same time, surrounding him in the darkness.

He couldn’t think straight and struggled to make sense of the speaker. ‘Who…?’

_Sam, you can stop him. You are a Nova and he is not. You have powers he will never again wield, powers that can stop him._

‘But his strength…’ He tried to argue, trying to orient himself in the darkness. He could vaguely hear people shouting, but it was like he was underwater. Everything was fuzzy.

_He has only a mere sliver of strength compared to what he once had. You are greater than he is; wield the full strength of your power. Embrace your lineage, Samuel Alexander. Being a Nova is in your blood._

‘I don’t know how!’ He protested, but it was getting hard to hear her. The shouting was becoming more distinct, more familiar. The ship…the Guardians…Peter. 

Titus.

 _We will help you._  The voice promised and then the darkness receded, leaving Sam on the cold floor of the ship with the sounds of battle all around him. Every part of his body hurt, protesting the large amount of electricity that had gone through him. A hand on his shoulder drew his attention; Gamora assessed his condition quickly before she turned her attention to the still-unconscious Starlord.

 _We will help you_. The words rang in his ears, a strangely reassuring promise for a disembodied voice.  _Embrace your lineage_.

Peter was talking to him, something nonsensical judging by the tone of his voice, but Sam was more concerned about what he had been told by both the bodiless voice and Titus. They knew more about his helmet than he did, than anyone did. “What did Titus mean?” He murmured, mostly to himself as he stared at his helmet. “He said I was only using a fraction of what it’s capable of.” The voice had also said something similar, but he didn’t want to explain his hearing voices right now.

“Makes sense,” Peter quipped, unaware of Sam’s internal monologue. “You only use a fraction of your brain.”

Sam sent him a heated glare over his shoulder. “Not helpful, Web-head.” He growled, slipping the helmet back on and feeling his body hum with its power.

“I don’t know what he meant by that, Nova, but I think there’s more to you than you think.” Peter said, suddenly sounding solemn as he stood by his shoulder.

“Titus used to be one of you,” Rocket reminded them from his seat, sounding like he didn’t want to say any of the words coming out of his mouth. “No one knows the secrets of the Nova better than the Nova.”

“Whatever’s in that helmet must be worth all this.” Peter mused, eyeing Sam’s helmet with new interest, but Sam barely heard him.

_You are greater than he is; wield the full strength of your power._

An idea nudged his brain, one that seemed so impossible and strange that he almost discarded it. But the sensation in his gut urged him to follow it, to go through with it despite its seeming insanity.

“Turn the ship around,” he said, feeling like he was listening to himself from a distance. Was he really going to do this? “I know what I have to do.”

* * *

 

His mother would have tanned his hide for trying what he was going to do next. He would have been grounded at least until next year and his ears would burn for weeks afterwards when she was done scolding him. But Mama wasn’t here and she wouldn’t be; it was just him and the Guardians now against a mass murdering maniac hell-bent on getting his helmet.

 _Ready or not, here goes nothing_ , he thought as he leapt into the open air, allowing the helmet to push its power into him. It felt amazing and strange all at once, like the force of a waterfall flowing through him and around him.

He shot for the ship, streaking like a comet against the sky. He could sense more than see the shields coming down on the ship, trying to protect it from him and his power, but he knew they wouldn’t close it in time. He was too fast, too full of power.

Titus had already lost.

“You want my helmet?!” He screamed to the open air, feeling battle rage flood his body. A thousand other voices seemed to accompany his statement, like the cries of the dead Novas were woven into his voice. “ _Here’s my helmet!_ ”

It was almost laughable how easy it was to punch through the hull. He remembered Rocket saying something about how it was a crazy strong alloy designed to withstand most weapons fire and deep space attacks, but it fell away under him like aluminum foil. He shot through layer after layer, the sheer heat of his energies burning through the metal until there was nothing left. He burrowed straight through the side and shot through the engine room, wreaking as much havoc as possible until the ship was full of burning holes.

 _This is for the Novas!_  He punched through an engine block.  _This is for those they helped!_  Another hole through a fuel line.  _This is for leaving me to be alone!_  The left wall crumpled under his fury.

 _The bridge,_  the woman’s voice urged.  _Titus is on the bridge. Go to him._  Surveying the damage with grim satisfaction, Sam shot off in the direction of the bridge. Sure enough, Titus was buried under the rubble, the bodies of his warriors fallen around him.

Pleasurable rage rolled through Sam. The hunt was now over. “I should have thanked you, Titus.” He stood tall over the betrayer of the Nova Corps, feeling every inch the warrior he knew he was. Venom dripped from his words. “Sometimes I forget what I’m capable of. What I was destined to be.” 

Titus snarled back at it him, but it was weak. Sam could understand what the woman said now; Titus was only a fraction of what he used to be. Sam was stronger than him, he had just failed to see it before. But he knew now who he was.

“And just so that we’re perfectly clear?” He landed on the bridge, hands growing warm as energy pooled in them. “You will  _never_  take this helmet from me or any other Nova again.”

He wasn’t surprised when Titus tried to rush him in a last-ditch effort to get the helmet, but he knew it wouldn’t work. With a simple thought, the energy that had been building flowed out of him, turning him into something akin to a star. Power charged the air around him and he felt the universe under his fingertips.

 _Hail, Samuel Alexander, last of the Nova Corps! Fulfill your lineage and become a Supernova!_ A wave washed through him and his skin crawled as something in him shifted under those words, like giant stirring from sleep.

The ship came completely apart under his power.

* * *

 

It reminded him of the feeling he got after a long, good workout under Cap. His body felt warm and loose and limber, like he could fly from one end of the galaxy to the next without breaking a sweat.

The power he wielded now came easy to him, as easy as a thought. No longer did it fight against him like before, but it instead bent to his every command.

 _Is this what it should have been?_  He mused, watching the burning ship fall into the sea.

 _It should have._ The woman spoke.  _You are a fully realized Nova now, Sam. The helmet will heed your every command. Use its powers wisely._

“Who are you?” He asked, speaking to the open air, but he wasn’t too curious to the nature of the voice. There were other things that needed his attention, namely the missing Titus. He knew the feline had survived his attack.

 _You will learn in time._  She assured him.  _You have avenged the Nova Corps, Sam. Take Titus to answer to justice and defend your friends._  The voice left, leaving him in silence.

He glided almost lazily back to the ship, enjoying the stunned looks on the faces of his friends far too much as he entered in his new form. He was much brighter than before and he knew without even looking his outfit and helmet had changed benefitting his new status.

“Sam!” For once, Peter sounded truly shocked. “You look…you look…!”

“I look awesome!” He declared, unabashedly taking advantage of Peter’s lack of wit. A true grin split his face at the disgruntled expression he sensed behind the mask.

“I told you that helmet had untapped secrets of the Nova Corps.” Rocket said, sounding like he was trying to hide the pride in his voice. It had been some time since he had seen a fully realized Nova.

Sam couldn’t hide his grin at those words and the pleased expressions on the others faces and a bolt of elation shot through him. He flew out the side of the ship and showed off a little; he felt like he had earned a chance to show off his new powers.

* * *

 

Grabbing Titus was too easy; he left Gamora and the others to take care of it. And yes, Fury was pissed about his ship and the Guardians being on Earth again after their last adventure, but Sam couldn’t really bring himself to care. He had just stopped the mass murderer of the Nova Corps and become a true Nova; Fury could be as pissed as he wanted. Nothing would ruin this.

Drax was the one who brought Titus onto the ship, looking far too pleased at the prospect of doing so. Sam, Groot, Starlord and Rocket watched while Spider-man tried to calm Fury down, but Gamora wasn’t helping much with her baiting.

“We’ll take care of him from here, kid.” Starlord promised him, his traditional rogue-ish grin back in place. “Titus will get what he deserves.”

“He’s gonna be locked up for a long time after what he did, probably till the day he dies.” Rocket agreed. Groot seconded that with a “I am Groot” in the background. “You did good today. The Novas would be proud.”

They were, he knew that. But he smiled and nodded, content to leave it at that.

“Guess we had better get going before Fury has an aneurysm.” Starlord said, watching in amusement and Fury and Gamora bickered. “Those Chitauri need someone to stop them too. We’ll visit sometime later.”

“Do we have to?” Rocket complained as they headed towards the ship. “This planet is weird.” He grumbled about the smell of the planet but Sam merely smiled. It was his way of saying goodbye, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“You owe me a race, by the way.” Peter added after the ship blasted into orbit and Fury left them in a huff.

* * *

 

The calm of the New York atmosphere was almost surreal after the day they had gone through. Danny and the others were going to have a hard time believing what happened when they got back from their mission in Southeast Asia and he looked forward to telling that tale.

“I never thought I’d get to be a spaceship pilot.” Peter commented from his spider-cycle. They were racing in a way, but it wasn’t competitive like before. Peter had been quiet since they had gotten back, like something was on his mind. Sam had a guess about what, but he tried to shove those thoughts away.

“I never thought I’d unlock this much power!” He shot back, doing a loop around Peter just for show. It was amazing how natural his powers felt now. “Who knew, right?”

He expected Peter to take his jibe, but the webbed hero remained silent. He almost tried pestering him again but something urged him to stay quiet.

“Sam, the thing about Titus and the Nova Corps…that wasn’t the whole story, right?” Peter finally said a few blocks later, speaking to be heard above the wind.

He didn’t answer immediately, trying to weigh which response would be best against the heavy feelings in his gut. “It wasn’t.” He finally said, trying to keep his voice light. “But we didn’t have time to explain it.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.” He hesitated. “Could you…I mean; will you tell us? What happened with Titus?”

Would he? He had spent the last year avoiding it when the others had shared their stories and how they came to be. It wasn’t something he liked to be out in the open, especially when the Guardians had hidden him on Earth to protect him from Titus. But now that his greatest fear had been realized and he had beat it…it wasn’t as scary. Yes, he didn’t necessarily want to, but it didn’t control him like before.

“After today, you should probably know.” He finally said, hating the heaviness of those words. “But I want the others to hear. I only really want to tell this story once.”

“Fair enough.” Peter answered, but Sam could hear the smile in his words. They flew in easy silence for a moment before the sound of the spider-cycle engine revving caught Sam’s attention. Peter shot forward but Sam caught up to him in a second.

“If you think you’re faster than me,” Sam informed him with a cocky grin. “You’re dreaming.”

“Hey, always gotta dream big!” Peter shot back, sounding back to his normal self. “Race ya home!” And with that, he was off, the blue glow of the rockets dancing in front of Sam.

A genuine laugh bubbled out of his throat, the first one all day. He followed after Peter, determined to show him what it meant to be a real Nova.

“You’re on!”

**Author's Note:**

> Out of all of the characters on Ultimate Spider-man, Sam is probably my favorite. Why? Who knows. I just love who he is and am pretty disappointed with how he and the others are handled in the series (apparently, there is no 'I' in 'team' but there is in Spider-man). I was especially disappointed in "Return of the Guardians of the Galaxy" on how they handled Sam's backstory and dealings with Titus. He seemed way too calm and cocky about facing the mass murderer of the Nova Corps and they just dropped the bomb shell of "Oh hey, the Nova Corps are dead" without explaining anything more. So, instead of just grumbling about it on Tumblr, I decided to write something about it.
> 
> It then turned into a series in my head.
> 
> Anyway, this is a character exploration of Sam and my take on what was going through his head while facing Titus. The dialogue and plot draw almost directly from the episode but I tried not to just recap so it wasn't boring. The next two parts, 'Dancing Star' and 'When the Stars Go Blue' deal more with Sam's backstory and what will happen to Titus and Sam's position on the team.
> 
> A huge thanks to the lovely stickytablet on Tumblr for being my editors/beta reader. You made this story a heck of a lot better than it was! As always, I'm on Tumblr if you'd like to come by and say hello and I hope you're having a wonderful day!


End file.
